Who Are the Frontline Workers in the Climate and Public Pension Discourse?
When we hear the term "frontline workers," many of us picture hospital staff, grocery store employees, or sanitation crews, especially in times of crisis. However, in the context of climate change and public pensions, the frontline takes on a different meaning.
Frontline workers are those whose labor keeps our society running and are most exposed to the physical, economic, and environmental consequences of climate change. These include educators, transit operators, construction laborers, agricultural workers, custodians, first responders, utility workers, and more, many of whom are public employees and pension fund beneficiaries.
Workers and the Climate-Pension Connection
Public sector workers—many unionized—depend on pension funds to provide the stability of a dignified retirement after decades of service. These same workers are often on the frontlines of climate disasters: repairing power lines after hurricanes, battling wildfires, evacuating flood zones, rebuilding roads, or supporting displaced communities. For example, utility workers in California have faced increasingly dangerous conditions responding to wildfires, while transit operators in coastal cities regularly contend with flooding and extreme heat.
Yet despite their proximity to the impact of intensifying climate disasters, frontline workers are often excluded from key conversations about how their pensions are invested and stewarded, especially when it comes to evaluating the climate risks those investments may carry.
It is important to note that frontline workers are direct and indirect stakeholders in the climate and pension conversation.
They live the risks. Heatwaves, air pollution, toxic runoff, extreme storms, and unstable infrastructure affect workers' health, safety, and ability to do their jobs. For instance, agricultural and airport workers face increased heat stress, and first responders endure hazardous air quality during wildfire seasons.
They fund the system. Every paycheck contributes to a pension fund that should serve their retirement security, not undermine it.
As beneficiaries, union members, and community leaders, frontline workers can demand more transparency, climate-resilient investments, and an ethical transition that honors their labor. In Maryland, California, and New York, for example, public employee unions have successfully advocated for workforce principles that integrate climate risk into pension portfolio management.
Investment decisions must be made with meaningful input from the people those decisions most impact. Centering frontline workers in climate finance means:
Listening to their lived experience on the job and in their communities
Including them in decision-making structures like advisory boards or trustee committees
Making pension transparency accessible and understandable
Aligning pension investments with worker and community well-being, not corporate status quo
Addressing Common Concerns
Some argue that shifting pension investments could jeopardize returns or breach fiduciary duties. However, recent studies show that climate-resilient portfolios can perform as well or better over the long term while reducing exposure to financial risks linked to climate change. Moreover, fiduciary duty includes managing emerging risks and opportunities, which climate change represents.
If we want climate-resilient pensions and public systems that serve people, we must elevate frontline voices not as a footnote but as leaders in this fight.
What You Can Do:
Attend local pension board meetings or request access to investment reports
Support union-led climate and pension initiatives
Advocate for transparent, climate-aligned investment policies
Educate yourself and your community about the intersection of climate risk and retirement security
Frontline workers know what's at stake. It's time their experience, vision, and leadership shape how we manage climate risk, build economic resilience, and secure a dignified retirement for all.
